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“You know how stubborn I can be.” I bent over to grab the dead man’s sword. It was so heavy, I couldn’t lift it all the way; the tip of the blade rested on the mossy forest ground. Even if I could lift it, I had no clue how to use it, but by the gods, I would try. I faced the group of men. They had slowed and formed a circle to surround us. Alrick turned and looked at me. His gaze settled on mine, then he smiled.
“That’s one of the things I love about you—your stubborn strength."
I smiled back at him. “Same here.”
“I have no regrets,” he said softly. “I would do it all over again. Just like this.”
A painful lump formed in my throat as my smile grew wider. I tightened my grip around the cold metal hilt of the sword as, all at once, the men charged us, screaming their battle cries. I was shaking with terror, and yet, I was also at peace. I’d rather die for someone I loved than live a life without him.
Raising his sword above his head, Alrick jumped forward to take on the attackers. A battle cry escaped his lungs. Maybe his last for all eternity. I prepared myself to meet my end when suddenly, my chest vibrated to the sound of a horn.
I turned around to face the direction of the noise as the slicing sound of arrows zipped through the forest, followed by the short screams of men dropping to the ground. The black soldiers had halted their attack. Some turned left and right in confusion, trying to process what was happening here. The horn blasted again, right before more arrows hit the black soldiers, who were dropping like flies. Alrick launched forward to engage the few black knights still alive, just as soldiers wearing shimmering metal armor jumped out from the rows of trees.
A sharp breath escaped my wide opened mouth. “Impossible!”
I recognized their armor. The white reflection of its immaculately polished metal, the phoenix painted in bright red onto their chests!
Then I saw him. A man as large as a bear, an axe in his hand, not a sword. He swung it left and right, dropping black soldiers like they were dwarfs next to a giant.
“Father,” I mumbled in disbelief, tears filling my eyes. Sword still in hand, I fell onto my knees, weeping. My father had come for me, fighting like a wild lion to save his only child.
When the last black knight had either dropped or fled, I attempted to compose myself. I wasn’t a little girl; I was the future queen of the South. Still shaking, I rose to my feet and wiped my tears away.
“Leave one alive for questioning!” my father yelled to the soldiers, who launched into the woods to follow the few black knights that had escaped. Then he turned to me and stared. Embarrassed, I placed the sword in one hand and patted down my wool nightgown to remove some of the grass and little twigs—a useless gesture considering what I must look like.
“Mina!” he finally said in a mixture of relief and shock. He strode toward me, then stopped. He pulled off his metal helmet and took a better look at me. From the sword in my hand to my bare feet and hair. “My dear child,” his voice trembled. “I—” His hand rose toward my short hair, then it dropped again. He shook his head in disbelief. “All the words in the world could not tell you how sorry I—”
I threw myself into his arms. “Father!”
He held me close. It felt strange at first. I had barely talked to my father in years. But when he squeezed me tight, the strange feeling went away and was replaced with happiness and relief.
“I was so worried I would lose you too,” he said. “I’m so terribly sorry for all of this. It’s all my fault.”
He let go of the embrace to look at me. I tried to compose myself, straightening my spine.
“Don’t blame yourself. It’s my fault as much as it’s yours. I was on a lost course. For myself and our kingdom.”
My father looked as if he didn’t know what to say. Then he smiled and nodded in agreement.“You have changed...” he said.
I shook my head. “Not changed. Just remembered who I am, who my parents are, both of them.”
His eyes filled with pride, and even...was that a tear?
“Your Highness,” Alrick said. He approached my father, then bowed in front of him.
“I have to beg your forgiveness. I tried my best to keep your daughter safe, but—”
“Rise, Alrick, son of Heinrich von Wilbrandt. You have held true to your promise. It’s not your fault that my daughter has come under attack. And I believe the reason she is still breathing is because of you. Isn’t that right, child?”
“Alrick has saved me on more than one occasion,” I said, realizing I had placed my hand on Alrick’s arm in front of my father, who was watching carefully. I pulled my hand away, blushing.
“It seems that there is much to talk about,” my father said. “Let us head north to your cousin’s for rest and food. We shall all gather our thoughts there.”
I nodded. Alrick frowned. “Is Henrike already on her way?” he asked.
Of course! Henrike! In all the horror, I had forgotten about her.
My father looked confused. “Isn’t that the name of your sister?”
